Timber-handling device



April 29, 1930. c. E. DOTY ET AL TIMBER HANDLING DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March '7, 1928 1H1 is IIH'HII f NVENTOR. M 122 2-) 3M 1% w; AT'TORNEY April 29, 1930. c. E. DOTY in AL TIMBER HANDLING DEVICE Filed March 7, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. 5, A a

WATTORNEY Patented Apr. 29, 1930 vamp: PATENE' OFFICE;

CHARLES- E; DOTY,IOE'MQU1\T'I VERNON, AND- OTTO G. mason, on NEW YORK, 1v. Y.

TIMBER?EANDLIN.G D E.

Application filed- Mar h a olins i de ice. f r he'rapidv and nve e loading and unloading or other moving about f i road. ties, bu obviously th n n ion is n limited o suc us In U. S. PatentNQ. 1,291,,l37, datedJanu- 3 4, 1 9., there is scri-bedv and laim a dev ce. adapted oibe s ng fr m a c n r er ick hav ng a p urality f pa rs f g ipping hQQkS,,GH HG J E GQ o a supporting mem r. y a hain 1? othe s it-able onnec ing meansfthe con e ting. c ain f r ch. pair' hooks eing'a apt d o. extend outwardfrom opposite sides of the S -Prom. ingmemb r, so tha e several.- pain o hooks v r adapte t grinthe nds of number f. 2. ties lying side. by sl deiand so t at w en t upporting .devi iis. lifted, t books f. each pair will, be. drawn nd; aus d to, grip he ends of the tie tofbe Ii tedthereby- T 7 present. inv ntion espe ial y ,to Prov des dev e hav nsilike tha o n in aii j'pateiit, a plural ty of pairs o gr pp g hooks ca ir l d'by connec ing evicesex endns outward 'flto nopposite. ides of a s ppe in lmem er for g ipping he en of, and fting-aplu-rali y otties'or: other avy Pieces f'tinibei." la d ide by sidalWhic-h ha be SO o str cted as; to befoapabl of readily f ngl timbers. littering very onsiderab y in length; and which hall he provided, with '.v ,m e an s whereby the gripping hooks, when pla ed inposition agains theendsot the imbe s to e l fted, wi l b held n. place by being d awn aga nst the nds of theft i ers nti th main ody r supporting member o the device is raised. to name the books to r ngly grip theends of. the timber a d to ft th'e n To these nds the device, is p vided wi h means wh re y the c nnec ng embers? hich, ar th hooks m y e drawn ou wardt the extent n ee sary o p acing the. h oks-o aohpair, impos tion at. he nds-of the imber. tote. ifted th reby, Whatever the. engt.. o the timber ithi the apacity of the lvi andwher by s nk. nnect ng, member, and; i s book been 1928. Serial No. 259,713.

placed in position against the end of a, timher will be pulled inward with sufiicient force to hold the hook in position against the end of the timber until such time as-the supporting member is lifted; and with means whereby when the supporting device is raised to lift the timbers gripped by the hooks, out

ward movement of the connecting members from the position in which their hooks are 1n engagement with the ends of the timbers will be prevented or limited, so that, as the supporting member is lifted, the hooks of each pair will be caused to grip the ends of the timber with which they have been placed in engagement, The locking means for holding the connecting members against outward movement from any position of adjustment in which their hooks are positioned against the ends of timbers to be lifted are most dosirably arranged to come into operation automatically when the supporting member is raised.

W Vhi'l e the invention aims especially to pro: vide a lifting device for lifting a plurality of timbers at one time, features ofthe invention may be embodied 1n a device adapted for lifting only a singe piece of timber at a time.

A full understanding of the invention can best be given by a detailed description of" a lifting device embodying the various features of the invention in the form now considered best in connection with drawings illustrating such a device, and such a description Will now be given in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, in which Fig. 1 is a top plan View of a lifting device according to the invention;

Fig. 2 is a side View;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on line 33 of Fig. 1, showing the parts in position when the lifting cable is slack and its supporting member'is resting on tics or other timbers to be lifted, and with one of the'pairs of hooks shown placed in position against the ends of a ti b r; and

Fig. l is a sectional view taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 1, showing the parts in position at a time when the supporting member has been raised to lift a timber or timbers.

Referring to the drawings, the device as shown comprises a supporting member 10 which is most desirably,and as shown, a rectangular frame, conveniently formed of angle bars 11 and side bars 12 extending between end plates 13. The supporting member is adapted to be lifted by a cable 15 connected to a shackle 16 attached to an upper bar'or'beam' '17 which extends longitudinally of the frame and'is connected at its ends to the end plates 13 by means of studs 18 extending into loops 19 which project upwardly from the end plates, these parts being proportionedso that by reason of movement of thepins 18 vertically within the loops-19 the bar 17 is permit-ted a limited vertical movement relatively to the supporting member. The-purpose of this relative vertical movement permitted to the bar 17 will be explained later. V

The supporting frame carries aplurality of pairs of winding drum-s, or spools, 20 and .21'n1ounted to turn on parallel shafts 22 and 23 the ends of which are fixed in the end 7 plates 13. Connected to each of the drums 20, is a flexible connecting member 24 which is adapted to extend outward from the side and for each of the drums 21 there is pro-" vided a coiled spring 32 which tends to turn the drum to wind its connecting member thereon anddraw its hook '31 inward toward the side of the frame. The connecting members 24a nd' are conveniently formed of chains but may be of any suitable flexible material) They extend from the drums out; through openings in the side walls of the frame, as shown, through openings in, the side bars 12 and theside bars thus form stops against which the hooks come home when not in use. By having the side bars 12 spaced somewhat away from the anglebars' 11 an opening is'provided into which'the' ends of the hooks may extend. The gripping hooks may be of any suitable form, but are most desirably double prongedlhooks, as, shown.

For preventing turning of the drums to permit outward movement of the connecting chains when the supporting device is being raised 3 after the gripping hooks have been positioned at the ends of timber-s to be lifted, each of the drums is provided with a ratchet avheel 40 or v41 secured'to turn with the drum and adapted to bezengaged by a pawl 42 or 43. The pawls 42 for the ratchet wheels4O of the drums 20 are; mounted on a extending between the end plates 13 above" shaft 44 the drum shaft. 22, and the pawls 43 for holding the ratchet wheels 41 of the drums 21 are mounted on a similar shaft 45 extending between the end plates above the drum shaft 23. In order that the pawls 42 and 43 shall be held out of engagement with their ratchet wheels'when the supporting frame is not being lifted, as, for example, when it is. resting on a layer'oftimbers and the lifting cable is slack; as shownin Fig. 3, each of the pawls is provided with an arm 46 which extends inwardly beneath the" lifting beam 17, so that when-the beam 17 is in its lower position relatively to the frame, as shown in Fig. 3, the arms 46 will be depressed and the pawls lifted out beam is raised by an upward pull of the lifting cable,the pawl arms-46 are released and the pawlsdropinto'operative position to coact each with its ratchet wheel to lock the corresponding drumagain'st turning in the direction to permit" outward movement of its connecting member and hook.

Inthe useof the! lifting dev1ce,"the sup-.

about midway of the length of, a layer 'or course of ties or other timbers to be lifted,

and the lifting cable is slacked to permit the beam 17 to drop and depress the pawl arms 46 to release the ratchet wheels. The gripof engagement with their ratchet wheels. Wl1en,'however, the lifting portingframe 10 is placed'crosswise on, and

ping hooks are then pulled outward and 1 V placedin position with their prongs lying' over the ends of the timbers, the two hooks of each 'pair', that is,fthose carried by connejcting devices extending from opposite drums 2O and'21, being positioned against the opposite ends of thesamepieceof timber. The winding drums are turned against the tension-of'their springs when the hooks and connecting chains are. pulled outward, and when the hooks-have been positioned against the ends of the timbers the springs'tendto turn the drums to'draw inward on the connecting members sufliciently to hold the hooks in position against the ends of the timber-s." The hooks having been thus positioned, when the lifting cabledraws upward on the beam 17 to raise the supporting frame," the beam '17 is first lifted relatively to'the frame to re-' lease the pawls and permit them to drop into operative position to lock each of the drums against unwinding movement when it has turned sufficiently'to bring a tooth of its ratchet wheel into engagement'with itspawl.

Then .a'sthe supporting frame is'raised, a

large component ofthe "strain on the hooks I will be in the direction inward longitudinally of the timbers so as to cause the points of thehooksto sink into and'tightly grip the ends of-the t1mbers,j-and, as the upward movef ment of'the frame continues, the timbers are.

lifted and may thenbeqshiftedand lowered and deposited as'jdesired. Whentho timbers are lowered and come, to" rest,furither downing in the strain on the connecting chains,

and the books may be readily disconnected from the ends of the timbers; and when the hooks are disconnected and released, the drums will'be turned by their springs to draw the chains and hooks inward until the hooks come to rest against the side of the frame.

It will be seen that adevice such as shown may be used for lifting timbers of various lengths, the length of a timber which can be lifted depending upon the length of the eonnecting chains, the spacing of the pairs of drums, and the winding capacity of the drums. It will be also be seen that timbers of different lengths may be lifted at the same time. i

It is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to theexact construct-ion shown and toWhiGh-the foregoing descrip tion has been largely confined, but that it in-' cludes changes and modifications thereof I,

for automatically locking the drums against unwinding movement when thesupporting a member is raised.

2.. A lifting device for articles such as railroad ties and other heavy timbers, comprising a supporting member, a pair of spring actuated winding drums carried by the' supporting member, a pair of flexible connect ing members extending in opposite directions one from each drum, a gripping hook carried 7 by each connecting member, and means movable into and out of operative position for locking the drums against unwinding movement.

3. A lifting device for articles such as railroad ties and other heavy timbers, comprising a supporting member, a pair of spring actuated winding drums carried by the supporting member.

4. A lifting device for articles such as railroad ties and other heavy timbers, comprising a supporting member, a pair of connectingmembers adapted to extend outward in opposite directions from the supporting member and to swing vertically, a gripping device carried by each connecting member and formed to grip under strain of its connecting member, means tending to draw the connecting members inward but permitting them to be drawn outward for positioning the gripping devices against the. ends of a timber to be lifted, and means for holding the connecting members against outward movement.

5. A lifting device for articles such as railroad ties and other heavy timbers, comprising a supporting member, a pair of spring actuated winding drums carried by the supporting member, a pair of flexible. connecting members extending in opposite directions one from each drum, a gripping hook carried by each connecting member, and means for automatically locking the connecting members against outward movement when the supporting member is raised.

6. A lifting device for articles such as railroad ties and other heavy timbers, comp-rising a supporting member, a pair of gripping hooks connected to the supporting member to have a downward and inward movement relatively thereto and movable outward therefrom for positioning them against the ends of a timber to be lifted, means tending to draw the hooks inward to hold them in position against the ends of a timber before the supporting member is lifted, and locking means for holding the hoolns against outward movement when the supporting member is raised to lift the timber,

'7'. A lifting device for railroad .ties and other heavy timbers, comprising a supporting member, a plurality of pairs of connect iug members adapted to extend outward from the supporting member and to swing vertically, the connecting members of each pair extending outward in opposite directions, a gripping hook carried by each connecting member, means tending to draw the connecting members inward, and releasable locking means for holding the connecting members against outward movement.

8. A lifting device for railroad ties and other heavy timbers, comprising a supporting member, a plurality of pairs of connecting members adapted to extend outward from the supporting member and to swing vertically, the connecting members of each pair extending outward in opposite directions, a gripping hook carried by each connecting member, means tending to draw the connecting membersinward, and locking means for automatically locking the connecting members against outward movement when the supporting member is raised.

9. Alifting device for railroad ties and other heavy timbers, comprising a supportill) l ll) mg member, a plurality of pairs of connecting members adapted toextend outward from the supporting member and to swing vertically, the connecting'members of each pair extending outward in opposite directions, a gripping hook carried-"by each connecting member, means tending to draw the connect ing members inward, -a lifting memberthrough which lifting eifort is transmitted'to the supporting .member'and whichhas limited movement relatively to the support- Y ing member, and locking means 'controlledby thei-elati've movement ofsaid lifting member to release the connecting memberswhenthe lift ng cable is slack and to lock the connect-,

ing members against outward movement when the supporting memberis raised. 4 V 10.1Aliftingdevice for railroad ties and other heavy timbers, comprising 'a 'suppor ing member, a plurality of pairs-oif'connecting members adapted to extend outward from the supporting member and to swing vertically, the "connecting members of eaeh pairslex tending outward in opposite directions, a

gripping hook carried by eachuconnecting' member, and means "for independently adj-ustingthe effective length of each connecting member. v p 7 11. A lifting device-for other heavy timbers, comprising a supporting member, a series of independently rotatable winding drums carried: by the supporting member, a flexible connecting member securedto each drum and adapted to extend outward 'from one. side of the supporting member, a second series of independently .ro-

tatable winding drumsicarried: by the sup porting member, a flexible connecting: member secured to each drum of saidsecond series and adapted to extend outward'from the other side of the supporting 'member, a gripping hook carried by each connecting member, and

means for locking the drums against unwind ng movement from any position to which they have been individually turned.

1 12. A-lifting vdevice for railroad-ties andv other heavy timbers, comprising a-supportingv member, a-series of independently rotatable winding drums carried by the supporting.

member, a flexible connectingmcmber secured to each drum and adapted to extend outward from'oneside of the supportingv' member, a secondseries ofindependently rotatable winding drums carried by the supporting niemberfa flexibleconnecting member secured-to each drum of said second selies and adapted to extend outward from the other side of the supporting member, a grip lin hook carried 10 7 each connectin member, a spi'ing-forieach drum tending to turn the druin to wind itsconnecting member thereon, and locking means'movable into and outof operable position for locking the drums against unwinding movement.

13,};A1ifting device forrailroad ties. and

railroad ties and.

other heavy timbers, comprising a supporting member, a series-of independently rotatable winding drums carried by the supporting member, a fiexible connecting member 7 secured to each drum and adapted to extend outward from' one side of the supporting member, a second series of independently rotatable winding drums. carried by the supporting member, a flexible connecting member secured to each drum of said second series and adapted to extend outward from the other side of the supporting member, a grip ping hook carried by each connecting mem ber, and locking means for automatically locking the drums againstunwinding movement when the supporting-member is raised.

14. A lifting device for railroad ties and other-heavy timbers, comprising a'supporting member, a series of independently rotatable winding drums carried by the supporting member, a flexible connecting member se-i cured to each drum and adapted to extend outward from one side of the supporting member, a second series of independentlyrd tatable" winding drums carried by the supporting member, a flexible connecting memberl'securedto each'drum of said second series and adapted to extend outward from the other side of the supporting member, a gripping hook carried by'each connecting-member, a ratchet wheel on each drum, a pawl for coacting with each ratchet wheel to look its drum against unwinding movement, "and a lifting beam through whichvlifting effort is transmitted to the supporting member and In testimony whereof, we have hereunto set our hands. s 7

CHARLES E. DOTY. OTTO GnDESCH; 

